By Calvin Biesecker
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking “positive” steps to ready itself for its first presidential transition, a period in during which terrorists may feel that the United States is weak, but the department must still craft a more comprehensive plan that clarifies the role of the leadership at headquarters, says a new report prepared by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).
DHS has a number of transition training programs and plans in place and has been acting on these, says the report, Addressing the 2009 Presidential Transition at the Department of Homeland Security. For example, the report notes that plans for headquarters offices and the component agencies to identify a senior career executive to serve as their senior transition officer and an official to serve as a deputy are on schedule.
Currently, DHS has senior career executives in all of its number two positions except for the Deputy Under Secretary for Intelligence & Analysis, a department spokesman told Defense Daily last week. A person for the number two position in that office is expected to be selected by the end of June, he said.
Some of the reports recommendations have already been acted on. That’s because DHS, which contributed $3 million toward the study, has been working with NAPA along the way, DHS spokesman Larry Orluskie said. For example, DHS is in the process of moving a career service individual into the role of overseeing the transition from headquarters, he said.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Acton has been detailed to the Under Secretary for Management Office and has already begun receiving briefings on transition planning, Orluskie said.
Some transition gaps still remain, the report says. One relates to the need to have a process in place so that the respective presidential nominees can have their prospective appointees for key DHS positions and transition teams go through background checks sooner rather than later. However, the report says it’s not clear who would conduct these background checks.